A blood-red scroll unfurled, rapidly engulfing a hundred-mile radius.
In the sky, the gods' attacks, upon landing, vanished, becoming part of the blood-red scroll's scenery.
Immediately after, the blood-red scroll violently swept towards the gods.
The gods were greatly alarmed.
"Not good, it's a divine skill!"
Though they were deities, very few possessed divine skills; among a dozen or so gods, only one had one.
However, his divine skill was a defensive one.
At once, he unleashed his divine skill, and colossal barriers enveloped the gods, resisting the blood-red scroll's assault.
Seeing this, the gods breathed a sigh of relief, but then, upon witnessing this god's divine skill, their expressions turned envious.
Throughout their lives, they had not even learned a single divine skill, and many gods, after tens of thousands of years of cultivation, had not even seen one.
It wasn't that they hadn't considered creating divine skills themselves, but as lower gods, the difficulty was too immense, far beyond their capabilities.
It was akin to asking a primary school student not only to solve problems but also to create them; it was an impossible task.
The blood-red scroll swept through space, attempting to strip away the surrounding space and form a scroll. This blood-red scroll's ability was to "two-dimensionize" space, akin to a simplified version of a "two-dimensionalization bomb."
However, the barrier stood firm in front, stabilizing space and wrestling with the blood-red scroll.
All the gods watched with astonishment; the power of the divine skill surpassed their imaginations.
"Do not stand idle, all of you, lend me your strength!"
The god shouted loudly, feeling as if the blood-red scroll's divine skill possessed an endless supply of power, and he was growing increasingly strained.
If he faltered, they would all be consumed by the scroll, becoming a scene within the painting.
The gods understood this and each unleashed their abilities.
"Rest assured, with a dozen or so of us gods working together, even if the mastermind behind this possesses a divine skill, we need not fear!"
"Everyone, put in more effort, do not slacken."
"Hmph, with the human race not yet eradicated, how can we possibly lose!"
"........"
Time flowed by, and half an hour vanished in an instant.
With a crack,
The gods' faces changed dramatically; they were becoming increasingly strained.
The owner of the barrier divine skill, at this moment, was ashen-faced and had sustained internal injuries.
The gods were not faring much better, their internal energy depleted, leaving them gasping for breath.
They inwardly marveled: how could the god behind this be so powerful?
Even with a dozen gods attacking together, they could not break through the power of the blood-red scroll.
A premonition of impending doom began to creep in.
As soon as this premonition arose, they cried out in agony and were sent flying backward.
"Hmph, I was merely testing you just now, which is why I didn't use my full strength. It seems your power is only this much. I only used a third of my power, and you couldn't even withstand it. Truly..."
"Too weak!"
"I happen to be in need of refining a batch of divine-grade flesh and blood pills, and your flesh and blood are perfectly suitable!"
As the voice faded, all the gods present erupted in fury.
"Presumptuous! We are deities, to insult us so, you are bullying the gods far too much!"
When had they ever endured such humiliation? As deities, they had always been aloft, wishing for all beings in all realms to prostrate themselves at their feet, becoming their slaves.
And this mysterious entity dared to debase them so, wishing to use them to refine pills.
If this is intolerable, what is?
No more restraint was needed!
"Alas!"
A sigh echoed.
In the next moment, a series of cracking sounds ensued.
"Not good, the barrier can't hold on," the god exclaimed.
With a booming sound, the barrier shattered, dissolving into scattered specks of golden light.
Then, the blood-red scroll swept in ferociously.
"This time, I used an additional thirty percent of my strength."
As soon as the words fell, the gods' faces changed drastically.
They discovered that the blood-red scroll's radiance surged, instantly engulfing the surrounding space.
The gods each displayed their divine abilities to prevent this, but ultimately, all their efforts were in vain.
Lin Yu beckoned, and the blood-red scroll rolled up, shrinking into a scroll half a meter long, flying into Lin Yu's hand and being stored within his small world.
"I'll keep them confined for now. When I need to refine pills, I'll kill one," Lin Yu muttered to himself.
Only then did he turn his attention to the human race.
At this moment, the crisis of the gods had been resolved, and the twenty billion humans were immensely excited, looking up at the sky, gazing at Lin Yu's colossal merged clone.
Lin Yu sighed helplessly.
He shrunk to a three-meter form and flew into the central city.
Those in the Inner Cabinet, seeing the shrunken giant, were filled with excitement. They knew this was Lin Yu's merged clone, and to have grown so much stronger in just a few days filled them with envy.
Along with their envy came a sense of security.
Lin Fan walked over with a grin. "Brother, the situation is chaotic now. I suggest you break through to godhood as soon as possible."
Lin Yu shot him a glare. He understood Lin Fan's intention perfectly – he wanted him to kill more and gain more evolution points.
If Lin Yu broke through, Lin Fan would also break through to godhood. In essence, even a permanent clone would have its own selfish desires.
"Is the realm of godhood so easily attained?"
"I already have a plan for this matter, so cease your talk!"
Lin Yu silenced Lin Fan, preventing him from speaking further.
He genuinely feared the guy might say something thoughtless again, given Lin Fan's personality.
The Elders and others watched Lin Yu with a sense of relief.
The Elder stepped forward, patted Lin Yu's merged clone's shoulder, and smiled. "The boy from back then has grown so powerful. As for us, we are old and can no longer keep up with the times."
Lin Yu yawned and chuckled. "You are not doing badly. Achieving demigod status at only three hundred years old is something many envy."
Beings of the ninth order already possessed lifespans of over a thousand years. To break through to demigod at three hundred years old was considered quite talented among all realms.
The Elder sighed. "We cannot compare to you. We cannot compare to you, you brat is simply a monster."
The thought of Lin Yu reaching this stage in just one year filled him with immense envy.
Yet, sometimes the gap between people was wider than the gap between a person and a dog. Apart from sighing, he felt more a sense of how times had changed.
"By the way, where is Sword God teacher?" Lin Yu scanned the surroundings, not finding Sword God.
When he had first returned, he clearly saw Sword God here.
Lin Fan quickly pointed into the distance. "I saw Sword God teacher go that way. He seemed to have discovered something and looked very anxious."
Hearing this, Lin Yu nodded and unleashed his spiritual perception.
Instantly, the scenery within a ten-thousand-mile radius flooded his mind.
"Found him!"
About a hundred miles away, Sword God was staring at the sky in utter astonishment.
"What is wrong with him?"
Lin Yu, with a look of confusion, teleported next to Sword God.
"Teacher, what is it?" Lin Yu asked, frowning.
Sword God pointed to the empty space ahead and said,
"I just sensed a sword energy, but it vanished very quickly. I searched for a long time and found that it disappeared here. Unfortunately, the space of Blue Star is too strong now for me to investigate by breaking through it."